Skelp-rolling machine



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. M. PRICE.

SKELP ROLLING MACHINE.

No. 373,481. Patented Nov. 22, 1887.

d J g-Z WI "In WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS.

N. PErEnS. Phulu-Lilhognphar. Wnlhmgicm D C.

1 (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. M. PRICE.

SKELP ROLLING MACHINE.

a 8 8 M l M I 7 H M N d e t n e t a P 00 E M 4 8 I 8 F. Nkw m Ma 3 m o N(No Model.) 5 Sheets--Sheet 3.

J. M. PRICE.

SKELP ROLLING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 22, 1.887,

EA/TOH WITNESSES.

QQA

ATTORNEYJ.

Ens. Phalolnhognphur. Washinglnn, n. c.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

' J. M. PRICE.

SKELP ROLLING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 22,-1

By W

ATTOHIVEYA:

WITNESSES: fizz/2% Am 66;.

N. PETERS. Phuwumw n her. Washingmn. D. c.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

J. M, PRICE.

SKELP ROLLING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 22

! IIVVENTO/P IIIIIIIIIIII A TTOR/VE S.

N. PEYERS HwhrLinwgrzphm, Washington. 0. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. PRICE, OF KINGS BRIDGE, NEIV YORK.

SKELP-ROLLING MACHINE.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,481, datedNovember 22, 1857.

Application filed August 10, 1887. Serial No. 246,560.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN M. PRICE, of Kings Bridge, in the county andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMills for Rolling Skelps, of which the following is a specification.

The object ofthis invention is to furnish an improved apparatus or millfor rolling iron or steel skelps to be used for the manufacture ofwrought-iron and steel tubes, also for rolling out iron or steelnail-plates, the invention being designed with a view to expedite therolling out of the skelps or plates, reduce the number of hands requiredfor attending to the mill, and increase the output of the same.

Herctofore in rolling out iron or steel skelps of this class a train ofrolls was used which consisted of a three-high roughing set, a threehighfinishing set, and a two-high planishing set of rolls, said three setsof rolls being arranged in line and provided with stationary platformsat one side or in front of the rolls, said platforms being provided withdriven feed-rollers to assist the roughers or finishers in returning thebillet to the rolls. At the other side or rear of the rolls the billetis handled with tongs, raised by means of hooks, and guided back intothe several passes of the rolls, said tongs and hooks being also usedfor transferring the billet from one set of rolls to the other, so as torequire, therefore, in mills making skelps from ten to fifteen incheswide about thirteen or fourteen men for rolling out and delivering theskelps to the shears. By my improved rolling-mill the skelps can berolled out in any suitable width and delivered to the trimming-shears byfive men and boys, as a number of the operations referred to areaccomplished by means of specially-designed appliances.

The invention consists of a rollingmill for making skelps andnail-plates, which comprises three sets of rolls arranged in line with(No model.)

rolls, and feed devices for the third set of rolls. The rising andfalling feed-table at the rear of the roughing-rolls is provided withshifting devices for laterally moving the billet into line with theupper passes of'said rolls and into contact with continuonsly-rotatingfeed-rollers. The shifting devices of the rising and falling feed-tablealso serve to transfer the billet to pivoted arms of the traversingcarriage by which the billet is transmitted to the hinged platform ofthe same, said platform being pro-- vided with oscillating dogs forstopping the billet, which dogs are operated by a fixed camstop at theproper time and moved out of the way when the skelp is to be transmittedfrom said platform by oscillating dogs of the traversing carriage overan inclined conductingplate into line with the planishing-rolls, and bysuitable feed devices to the same and the trimming-shears.

The invention consists, further, ofeertain details ofconstruction andcombinations of parts, as will fully appear hereinafter, and finally bepointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of my improvedrolling-mill for making skelps or nail-plates. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are vertical longitudinalsections, respectively on lines x 00 and 3 3 Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a rearelevation of the apparatus; Fig. 7, a vertical transverse section online 0 c, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a plan, drawn on a larger scale, of therising and falling tables for transmitting the billet to the passes ofthe roughing and finishing rolls. Fig. 9 is a vertical transversesection of the same on line 70 k, Fig. 8; and Figs. 10 and 11 arevertical longitudinal sections on line Z Z, Fig. 8, showing the dogs ofthe feed-table of the finishing-rolls in different positions.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, Arepresents a set of threehigh roughing-rolls, B a setof three-high finishing-rolls, and O a set of two-highplanishing-rolls,which are arranged in line with each other and coupledtogether, so as to receive motion from the same shaft, as customary inrolling-mills. At one side or front of the first set or roughing-rolls,A,is arranged an inclined stationary table, A, which is provided with anumber of rollers, a, that are rotated by inasuitable powershaft.

gear, which enables the operator to prevent the billet from entering therolls Aif this should not be desired. The billet is placed on theinclined table A, and fed by the rollers a between a fixed guide rail orpins, a, to the first pass of the roughingrolls, and forced through thesame to the opposite side or rear of the roughing-rolls A onto avertically ris ing and falling feed-table, A", which is provided withrollers a, for receiving the billet,

'of the roughing set of rolls.

and with longitudinal rails a, for guiding and shifting the same on thefeed-table A. The frame of the feed-table A is provided with uprightposts a having racks a that mesh with gear-wheels a, which are turned inopposite direction to each other by a crank and connecting rod of anactuating steam-engine, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The feed-table A is raised and lowered at theproper time,so as toreceive-the blank from thelower passes and feed ittothe upper passes Therollers a at the end of the table next to the rolls A serve, inconnection with the continuo'uslyrotati-ng feed-rollers a a", the shaftof which is supported in bracket-bearings fastened to the standards ofthe rolls A, to move the billet into the upper passes of theroughingrolls A.

. The guide-rails a of the feed-table A are connected to the rails of ashifting-framem ,which isguided in ways of the frame of the feedtable Aand provided with a friction-roller, a, at the outer end, whichfriction-roller is engaged by an inclined way,a, so as to reciprocatethe shifting-frame a by the combined action of the rising and fallingmotion .of the feed-table A and the inclined way afl'and'causethereby'the billet to be laterally shifted on the feed-table A into linewith the upper passesof the rough ing-rolls.

to be adjusted to different degrees of inclination on the same by aset-screw, a, passing through an arc-shaped slot, a, of the standard a,as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

angle of inclination to its supporting-standard a, the extent of theshifting motion may be regulated according to the width of the skelps ornail-plates to be rolled from the billet. The

rollers a and feed-roller or feed the billet to the second pass and backto the inclinedtable A, the rollers of which again feed the billet tothe third pass at the lower part of the rolls A p and through the rollsto the risingand falling feed-tableA The billet is-next moved by theshifting-frame a laterally on the feed-table A,

into line with the fourth pass of the roughingrolls A and into'contactwith thesecond con The inclined -guideway a is sup-i ported on anupright stan'dard,a,and adapted By adjusting theinclined guideway a" toagreater orsma'ller' fifth pass at the lowerpa-rt of the rolls A andback to the feed table A and onto pivot-arms d d of a traversingcarriage, D, saidarms en tering into recesses d d of the frame of thefeed-table A as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The arms (1 d are guided andsteadied in fixed recessed blocks d d, located alongside the rising andfalling feed-table A. The billet is transferred to the pivot'arms d dwhile the feed- 7 table is in its lowermost position,so that when thefeed-table is raised the arms are raised simultaneously therewith intoinclined position, as shown, in Fig. 6, and cause the billet to slide bygravity over the inclined arms d 11 onto a platform, D, hinged at oneend to a traversing carriage, D. (Shown in Figs. 4, 8, and 9.)

The platform D is provided with pivoted dogs -"d" d that are connectedat their lower ends by a pivot-rod, d*, as shown in Fig. 10, oneof saiddogs passing along a'fixed inclined cam, d when the carriage D is movedtoward the rising and falling feed-table A said cam causing the'dogs tooscillate on their pivots and project by their upper ends'above thelevel of the platform D, as shown in Fig. 11, so as to prevent 't'hebillet from passing beyond thesame. The platform D is provided at theend next to the rolls B with a' roller, (i that turns in bearings of thesame and brings the billet in contact with a continuously-rotatingfeed-roller, d, the shaft d of which is supported in bracke't-bearin'gsof the standards of the second set of rolls, B, when that end of theplatform is lifted, so as to move the billet to the upper passes of thesame. WVhen the billet has been transferred by the pivot-arms d d ontothe hinged platform D, the traversing carriage D. is moved on its railse e alongside of the secroo 0nd set of rolls,B. The platform D is thenraised by a U-shaped lever-frame, d", which is IIO IIS

is provided with tapering guide-pins d for the billet. The traversingmotion of the carriage D parallel to'the rolls B on its rails e eisaceomplished by means of pinionsff, that engage racksff of thecarriage, said pinions being applied to a shaft, f which receives rotarymotion in one'or the opposite direction by a bevel-wheel,f", at its end,bevel-wheels f]" on a power-shaft, f and a clutch mech anism, f, betweensaid bevel-wheels, the shifting of the clutch mechanism into gearwith'one or the other bevel-wheelf imparting-a trav- 'ersing motionto-the carriage in one or theopposite direction along thefinishing-rolls, soas to bring the hinged platform D and the billettransferred to the same at the proper time into- The stationary inclinedtable B is provided with fixed standardsgg, to which is fulcrumed abalanced frame, that carries a roller, 9 at its rear end and abalancingweight, 9 for the same ata forward-extending arm. Theroller-frame g is raised or lowered by a lever, g, operated by one ofthe attendants. A roller, 9 at the rear end of the table B receivescontinuous rotary motion by a suitable belt-and-pulley transmission, andserves, in connection with the roller of the frame 9, when the same islowered, to move the billet to the lower passes of the finishing rollsB-namely, the seventh, ninth, and eleventh of the whole number ofpasseswhenever the same is fed by the lifting motion of the platform Dand the action of the rollers d d to the upper passes, 6, 8, and 10, ofthe finishing-rolls, and through the same to the table B. Then thebillet has passed the eleventh pass, it is rolled out nearly to the fulllength of the skelp to be produced, and is conveyed by the platform Dand the traversing carriageDto an inclined plate, E,by means ofoscillating dogs h it, that are applied to a transverse shaft, h, of thecarriage D. The shaft It turns in suitable bearings of the carriage D,and has a crank-arm, 71%, at its outer end, that comes in contact with afixed stop, it, as shown in Fig. 7, so as to oscillate the dogs at theproper moment and cause the skelp to be transferred onto theinclinedplate,along which it slides by gravity into a depressed guideway, E, atthe rear of the third set or planishing-rolls, O. The carriage Disthenreturned in opposite direction by the attendant stationed at the clutchof its driving-gear, the dogs h h being then returned into their normalposition, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6, by means of weights h,applied to fixed arms of the shaft h.

A continuously-rotating feed-roller, z, is arranged in the guidewayleading to the plan ishing-rolls O, and serves, in connection withabalanced U shaped frame, 1'', havingaroller, i, at its outer end, and alever, i to move the skelp forward below the lower roll of the thirdset, C, to the other or front side of the same, where it passes along aninclined or curved part, E, of the guideway E, and is taken hold of bytongs operated by an attendant and bent toward the rolls 0, so as to beinserted between the same and moved by themthrough the twelfth and lastpass of the mill, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. From the rolls 0the skelp is delivered ontoastationary table, F, and transferred fromthe same by a cdntinuously-rotating roller, m, and a U shaped balancedframe, on, having a roller, m and lever m connected by a rod, of, to thelever i, in the same manner as it has before been driven under the rollsto the trimming shears, where the skelp is out to the proper length.

Operation: The operation of the rolling mill has been described to someextent in connection with the different parts composing the same, sothat itis only necessary to briefiy recapitulate the successivemovements of the different parts and the successive feeding of thebillet in one heatthrough the live passes of the roughing-rolls, the sixpasses of the finishing-rolls, and the pass of the planishingrolls. Thebillet is first conducted by the rotating rollers of the inclined tableof the first set of rolls to the first pass at the lower part of thesame, and conducted through said pass to the rising and falling platformat the opposite side of the rolls. \Vhile this platform is raised thebillet is simultaneously shifted laterally into line with the secondpass of the first set, then fed through said pass onto theinclinedtable, and from the same through the third pass at the lower part of thefirst set again to the rising and falling platform. The billet is raisedby the platform and simultaneously shifted into line with the fourthpass, and fed through'said pass to the inclined feed-table, and from thesame through the fifth pass onto the pivoted arms of the traversingcarriage, which arms serve to convey the billet to a hinged platform ofthe carriage, and by the lifting of said platform to the upper passes ofthe second set of rolls. The billet is fed from said platform by meansof a lifting leverframe and a rotating feed-roller through the threeupper passes of the finishing-rolls,while an inclined table at the frontside of said rolls returns the billet alternately through the threelower passes of the finishing-rolls. The skelp thus formed by the actionof the eleven passes is then transferred by the oscillating dogs of thecarriage along an inclined plate to the guideway of the planishingrollsand moved by feed devices to the front side of the same, where the skelpis bent up and returned through the twelfth pass of said rolls to araised platform, and thence by another feed device to thetrimmingshears, it being then ready to be worked up into a tube ornails, as the case may be.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with three sets of rolls arrangedin line with each other and the feed devices of the same, of atraversing carriage having a hinged platform, a pivoted leverframe forraising or lowering said platform, pivotarms for transferring the billetfrom the feed devices of the first set ofrolls to the hinged platform,and oscillating arms for transferring the billet to the feed devices ofthe third set of rolls, snbstantiall y as set forth.

2. The combination ofthe first set or roughing-rolls, a stationaryinclined feed-table located at the front side of said rolls, saidfeedtable having rotating feed-rollers, and means for reversing saidfeed-rollers whenever re quired, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the first set or roughing-rolls, of an inclinedstationary feedtable having rotating feed rollers, a rising and fallingfeed-table at the opposite side of the rolls, said feed-table havingrollers at the end next to the rolls, and continuously-rotating fallingfeedtable at the other side of the rolls,

a shifting-frame guided in the frame of said rising and fallingfeed-table, and means for reciprocating the shifting-framesimultaneously with the rising and falling of the feedtable,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the first set or roughing-rolls, of astationary inclined feedtable having rotating feedrollers, a rising andfalling feed table at the other side of the rolls, areciprocatingshifting-frame guided in the frame of said rising andfalling feed-table, and an incli ncd adjustable guideway engaging theend of the shifting-frame,so as to regulate the extent of reciprocatingmotion of the shifting-frame, substantially as set forth.

6. The eombinationof the firstset or ro'nghing rolls, a rising andfallingcfeed-table at one side of the same, a reciprocating shiftingdevice guided in the frame of said feedtable, and a traversing carriagehaving pivot-arms fitting in recesses of the frame of said feed-tasideof the same. a reciprocating shifting device guided in the frame of saidfeed-table, a traversing carriage having pivoted arms fitting intorecesses of the frame of the feedtable, a platform hinged to saidcarriage, dogs pivoted to said platform, and means for lifting said dogsabove the platform, substantially as set forth. I

9. The combination of the second or finishing set of rolls, a traversingcarriage, a platform hinged to said carriage, a pivoted leverframe forraising or lowering said platform,

and a continuously-rotating feed-roller above the inner end of theplatform,neXt to the rolls, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination of the second or finishing set of rolls, astationary inclined feed-table at one side of the rolls, means for feeding the billet from said table to the rolls, a traversing carriage atthe opposite side of the rolls, a platform hinged to said carriage, apivoted lever-frame for raising or lowering said platform, and acontinuously-rotating feed-roller above the inner end ofthe platform,next to the rolls, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of the second or finishing set of rolls, astationary inclined feedtable at the front of the same, said tablehaving a rotary feed-roller at the outer end andguides near the innerend, an oscillating balanced roller-frame for holding the billet incontact with said feed-roller, a traversing carriage at the oppositeside of the rolls, a platform hinged to said carriage, a frame forlifting or lowering said platform, and a continuously-rotatingfeed-roller above the inner end of the platform, by which the billet israised and fed through the upper passes of the rolls, substantially asset forth.

12. The combination of the second orfinishing set of rolls, a traversingcarriage at one side of the same, a platform hinged to said carriage,balanced dogs pivoted to the ear riage, a third or planishing set ofrolls, an inclined plate, and means for oscillating the dogs, so as totransfer the skelp on the platform and carriage to the inclined plateand from the same by gravity to the guideway of the planishing set ofrolls, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination, with the third or planishing set of rolls, of acontinuously-rotating feed-roller at the rear of the same and anoscillating and balanced lever-frame having a roller, whereby the skelpis fed through below the planishing-rolls to the other side of same,substantially as set forth.

14. The combination, with the third or planishing set of rolls, of acontinuouslyrotating feed-roller at the rear' ofthe same, a curvedguideway at the front of the same, a balanced lever-frame having aroller for pressing the blank in contact with the feed-roller, and araised platform at the rear of the planishingrolls, ona level with thepass of the same, substantially as set forth.

15. The combinatiomwith the thirdorplanishing set of rolls, of a raisedplatform at the rear of the same, located on a level with the pass ofthe rolls, a continuously-rotating feedroller at the opposite end of theplatform, and airbalanced lever-frame having a roller, said feed-rollerand lever-frame feeding the skelp from the platform to thetrimming-shears, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN M. PRICE.

Witnesses:

SIDNEY MANN, PAUL GoEPnL.

